Published: Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 4:59 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 8:24 p.m.

A night out socializing quickly turned traumatic for a deaf woman who said she was arrested by Port Orange police officers who never provided her with an interpreter despite her pleas.

For Yolanda Gevarzes, a 41-year-old grandmother from Daytona Beach, the hours during and after her arrest on a domestic violence charge in the parking lot of a Chili's restaurant were humiliating and bewildering.

She said she could not communicate with police and corrections officers to tell them her side of what happened when she bit her boyfriend in the shoulder after a heated argument with her companion's friend in the parking lot of the restaurant.

She said she repeatedly asked for a sign language interpreter from both police and staff at the Volusia County Branch Jail and no one listened. Gevarzes said Port Orange police also handcuffed her behind her back for a brief time, which prevented her from using sign language and writing.

Last year, the mother of four sued the city of Port Orange, the Police Department and the three officers who responded to the Dunlawton Avenue Chili's parking lot the night of her arrest. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Orlando, is in mediation.

The suit claims the law enforcement agency and the officers violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

The act gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities, and guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications.

In a section aimed at law enforcement officers, the ADA states that police must provide whatever services or aids are needed in order to communicate with a deaf person. In addition, the law states that police should give "primary consideration" to providing the aid or service that is requested by the individual. The law further states that if the deaf person is used to speaking through an interpreter and the case is a complex one where an interview is needed, then the police must provide the interpreter.

The ADA also says police should not use a relative or a companion of the deaf person as an interpreter in a domestic violence case because that individual has ties to the deaf person and may be unable to interpret impartially.

Based on their own incident reports, Port Orange police officers relied on Gevarzes' boyfriend Lonnie Behrens — the victim of the attack — to interpret for Gevarzes. Police also spoke with Gevarzes via pen and paper.

The Police Department's own policy on dealing with a deaf suspect states that officers must provide an interpreter or any other "auxiliary aids and services" for a deaf person. The directive also states that police must honor the deaf individual's choice of aid or service. The agency's directive also says that the officer must comply with the deaf person's request, unless the officer can show that another effective means of communication is available.

In this case, Officer Phillip Slease used Behrens as the interpreter. Slease and Gevarzes also communicated with pen and paper, the report shows. Two other officers — Sgt. Kimberly Vingara and Brian Rizzo — also showed up at the scene, reports show. According to Vingara's report, Gevarzes "seemed to be communicating with us on scene and never requested for any other assistance."

Port Orange Police Chief Gerald Monahan declined comment for this story because the lawsuit is ongoing.

Gevarzes' lawyer Matthew Dietz contends that Gevarzes would not have been arrested if police had called for a sign language interpreter and his client could have explained what happened to her.

Gevarzes said she repeatedly asked for an interpreter.

EXPRESSION IN MOTION

This week at her Daytona Beach apartment, the mother of four spoke with The Daytona Beach News-Journal via sign language and through an interpreter.

Dressed in a black track suit and a white T-shirt, Gevarzes is a petite woman, but fills the room with the way she communicates with her interpreter. She moves her arms back and forth quickly and forcefully; her facial expressions change just as rapidly from angry to sad to incredulous. Her eyes open wide when she wants to make a point or is enraged. They become narrow slits when she is sarcastic.

She says the aftermath of the arrest has left her emotionally scarred. She has fallen into a deep depression. She is angry every day and has nightmares. Her once long hair has fallen out and she has lost the slender physique she was so proud of.

"I wrote down that I needed and interpreter," Gevarzes said earlier this week through interpreter Jessica Hoffman. "The police heard Lonnie's and Jason's stories, but they never got mine."

Gevarzes, Behrens and McConnell had just finished having drinks at the Chili's the night of July 23, 2011. It was after 10 p.m. when the trio decided to leave the restaurant.

Gevarzes said she admonished McConnell for not leaving the bartender enough for a tip. She and McConnell got into a heated exchange. When Gevarzes attempted to get in her car to leave the parking lot, she said McConnell refused to move from behind her vehicle so that she could back out. That's when she shoved him. But McConnell maintained his position behind her car and Gevarzes said she asked Behrens for help.

As she was getting ready to walk over to McConnell again, Gevarzes said someone grabbed her from behind in a bear hug. Because the parking lot was dark in the section where she had left her car, Gevarzes said she had no idea it was Behrens.

"I bit him in self-defense," Gevarzes said. "Then I realized it was Lonnie."

ARGUMENT TURNS TO ARREST

According to police reports, a Chili's employee called 9-1-1. When Slease, Vingara and Rizzo arrived, they saw a lipstick mark on Behren's shirt. When he lifted his shirt for police, the officers said the injury was consistent with a bite, the reports show.

"They told him that it was battery and that I would be arrested," Gevarzes said.

Dietz contends that police arrested his client because of her disability. It's the first time she has ever been arrested, court records show, and no formal charges were filed.

The attorney said police and corrections officers are so ill-prepared to communicate with a deaf person that they mistook Gevarzes' hand gestures and the loud sounds coming from her mouth — because she is deaf Gevarzes cannot hear the volume of her own voice — as defiance.

"She was denied effective communication," Dietz said. "If she had been able to explain what had happened, she would not have been arrested."

Based on his report, Slease said Gevarzes asked if an interpreter would be provided for her at the Volusia County Branch Jail, the report shows. Slease said "they probably would, but he was not sure," the report shows.

Not only did Gevarzes not receive an interpreter at the jail the night of her arrest, Gevarzes said Slease never told corrections officers at the facility about her disability.

Gesturing angrily, Gevarzes said she finally told corrections officers that she was deaf by pointing to her ear and yelling out the word, "Deaf!"

"They had me up against the wall and I kept turning around to see if I could try to understand what they were saying by looking at their lips," Gevarzes said of the corrections officers. "But they kept telling me to face the wall."

Volusia County spokesman Dave Byron said the Branch Jail "has staff members who know sign language, but who are not certified signers. If an inmate requires a certified signer, the county has a firm that can respond."

By the time Gevarzes made it to the jail from Port Orange police headquarters, it was 1:17 a.m. July 24, Byron said. According to jail records, Gevarzes had requested an interpreter. But because she was scheduled for first appearance at 8:30 a.m., corrections officers forwarded Gevarzes' request to the court, Byron said. She was released later that morning though, at 11:30 a.m., records show.

Byron said that if Gevarzes had been sent back to the jail and if she would have continued to have issues communicating with corrections officers, it would have been the jail's responsibility to call a sign language interpreter. But in this case, staff forwarded the request to the court.

While she is grateful that she was not prosecuted, Gevarzes said she fights a daily battle with the demons left behind by her ordeal.

Regardless, she says she will not stop rallying for the rights of other deaf people.

"I want people to . . . feel what I feel," Gevarzes said. "I want changes made so that other deaf people will not have to go through what I went through."

<p>A night out socializing quickly turned traumatic for a deaf woman who said she was arrested by Port Orange police officers who never provided her with an interpreter despite her pleas. </p><p> For Yolanda Gevarzes, a 41-year-old grandmother from Daytona Beach, the hours during and after her arrest on a domestic violence charge in the parking lot of a Chili's restaurant were humiliating and bewildering. </p><p>She said she could not communicate with police and corrections officers to tell them her side of what happened when she bit her boyfriend in the shoulder after a heated argument with her companion's friend in the parking lot of the restaurant. </p><p> She said she repeatedly asked for a sign language interpreter from both police and staff at the Volusia County Branch Jail and no one listened. Gevarzes said Port Orange police also handcuffed her behind her back for a brief time, which prevented her from using sign language and writing.</p><p> Last year, the mother of four sued the city of Port Orange, the Police Department and the three officers who responded to the Dunlawton Avenue Chili's parking lot the night of her arrest. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Orlando, is in mediation. </p><p> The suit claims the law enforcement agency and the officers violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. </p><p> The act gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities, and guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. </p><p> In a section aimed at law enforcement officers, the ADA states that police must provide whatever services or aids are needed in order to communicate with a deaf person. In addition, the law states that police should give "primary consideration" to providing the aid or service that is requested by the individual. The law further states that if the deaf person is used to speaking through an interpreter and the case is a complex one where an interview is needed, then the police must provide the interpreter. </p><p> The ADA also says police should not use a relative or a companion of the deaf person as an interpreter in a domestic violence case because that individual has ties to the deaf person and may be unable to interpret impartially. </p><p> Based on their own incident reports, Port Orange police officers relied on Gevarzes' boyfriend Lonnie Behrens &mdash; the victim of the attack &mdash; to interpret for Gevarzes. Police also spoke with Gevarzes via pen and paper. </p><p> The Police Department's own policy on dealing with a deaf suspect states that officers must provide an interpreter or any other "auxiliary aids and services" for a deaf person. The directive also states that police must honor the deaf individual's choice of aid or service. The agency's directive also says that the officer must comply with the deaf person's request, unless the officer can show that another effective means of communication is available. </p><p> In this case, Officer Phillip Slease used Behrens as the interpreter. Slease and Gevarzes also communicated with pen and paper, the report shows. Two other officers &mdash; Sgt. Kimberly Vingara and Brian Rizzo &mdash; also showed up at the scene, reports show. According to Vingara's report, Gevarzes "seemed to be communicating with us on scene and never requested for any other assistance." </p><p> Port Orange Police Chief Gerald Monahan declined comment for this story because the lawsuit is ongoing. </p><p> Gevarzes' lawyer Matthew Dietz contends that Gevarzes would not have been arrested if police had called for a sign language interpreter and his client could have explained what happened to her. </p><p> Gevarzes said she repeatedly asked for an interpreter. </p><p></p><p><b>EXPRESSION IN MOTION</b></p><p></p><p> This week at her Daytona Beach apartment, the mother of four spoke with The Daytona Beach News-Journal via sign language and through an interpreter. </p><p> Dressed in a black track suit and a white T-shirt, Gevarzes is a petite woman, but fills the room with the way she communicates with her interpreter. She moves her arms back and forth quickly and forcefully; her facial expressions change just as rapidly from angry to sad to incredulous. Her eyes open wide when she wants to make a point or is enraged. They become narrow slits when she is sarcastic. </p><p> She says the aftermath of the arrest has left her emotionally scarred. She has fallen into a deep depression. She is angry every day and has nightmares. Her once long hair has fallen out and she has lost the slender physique she was so proud of. </p><p> "I wrote down that I needed and interpreter," Gevarzes said earlier this week through interpreter Jessica Hoffman. "The police heard Lonnie's and Jason's stories, but they never got mine." </p><p> Gevarzes, Behrens and McConnell had just finished having drinks at the Chili's the night of July 23, 2011. It was after 10 p.m. when the trio decided to leave the restaurant. </p><p> Gevarzes said she admonished McConnell for not leaving the bartender enough for a tip. She and McConnell got into a heated exchange. When Gevarzes attempted to get in her car to leave the parking lot, she said McConnell refused to move from behind her vehicle so that she could back out. That's when she shoved him. But McConnell maintained his position behind her car and Gevarzes said she asked Behrens for help. </p><p> As she was getting ready to walk over to McConnell again, Gevarzes said someone grabbed her from behind in a bear hug. Because the parking lot was dark in the section where she had left her car, Gevarzes said she had no idea it was Behrens. </p><p> "I bit him in self-defense," Gevarzes said. "Then I realized it was Lonnie." </p><p></p><p><b>ARGUMENT TURNS TO ARREST</b></p><p> According to police reports, a Chili's employee called 9-1-1. When Slease, Vingara and Rizzo arrived, they saw a lipstick mark on Behren's shirt. When he lifted his shirt for police, the officers said the injury was consistent with a bite, the reports show. </p><p> "They told him that it was battery and that I would be arrested," Gevarzes said. </p><p> Dietz contends that police arrested his client because of her disability. It's the first time she has ever been arrested, court records show, and no formal charges were filed.</p><p> The attorney said police and corrections officers are so ill-prepared to communicate with a deaf person that they mistook Gevarzes' hand gestures and the loud sounds coming from her mouth &mdash; because she is deaf Gevarzes cannot hear the volume of her own voice &mdash; as defiance. </p><p> "She was denied effective communication," Dietz said. "If she had been able to explain what had happened, she would not have been arrested." </p><p> Based on his report, Slease said Gevarzes asked if an interpreter would be provided for her at the Volusia County Branch Jail, the report shows. Slease said "they probably would, but he was not sure," the report shows. </p><p> Not only did Gevarzes not receive an interpreter at the jail the night of her arrest, Gevarzes said Slease never told corrections officers at the facility about her disability. </p><p> Gesturing angrily, Gevarzes said she finally told corrections officers that she was deaf by pointing to her ear and yelling out the word, "Deaf!" </p><p> "They had me up against the wall and I kept turning around to see if I could try to understand what they were saying by looking at their lips," Gevarzes said of the corrections officers. "But they kept telling me to face the wall." </p><p> Volusia County spokesman Dave Byron said the Branch Jail "has staff members who know sign language, but who are not certified signers. If an inmate requires a certified signer, the county has a firm that can respond." </p><p> By the time Gevarzes made it to the jail from Port Orange police headquarters, it was 1:17 a.m. July 24, Byron said. According to jail records, Gevarzes had requested an interpreter. But because she was scheduled for first appearance at 8:30 a.m., corrections officers forwarded Gevarzes' request to the court, Byron said. She was released later that morning though, at 11:30 a.m., records show. </p><p> Byron said that if Gevarzes had been sent back to the jail and if she would have continued to have issues communicating with corrections officers, it would have been the jail's responsibility to call a sign language interpreter. But in this case, staff forwarded the request to the court. </p><p></p><p> While she is grateful that she was not prosecuted, Gevarzes said she fights a daily battle with the demons left behind by her ordeal. </p><p> Regardless, she says she will not stop rallying for the rights of other deaf people. </p><p> "I want people to . . . feel what I feel," Gevarzes said. "I want changes made so that other deaf people will not have to go through what I went through."</p>